Sep 25, 2013 11:05 PM

I was bitten about three weeks ago in the garden ( Derby). I did not feel the bite, but did notice what i thought was a thorn mark as it was bleeding a bit. After about two hours it started to itch. It got progressively worse with swelling. During the night I was woken with pain and the wholepart of my arm was swelling up. There was a stiff feeling in my hand, and it felt like I had been beaten. After taking Piraton in the night it still had not gone down. An emergency doctors appointent ( nurse) resulted her immediately calling a doctor. She seemed quite shocked, and the doctor said how bad it was. However after a whole leg swelling massively and on an antibiotic drip in hospiltal in Saudi I did not think it was that bad! I think it was about half the arm that was swollen. It resulted in 2 week antibiotics aswell as more antihistamines. I was ill, letharigic and felt unwell for three days. The actual bite came up in a big blister. It did no go away for about 10 days, and three weeks later there is still a sign of it.

I thought this might be a sensitivity that i had developed due to a spider bites ( which resulted in in pateinet hospitalisaion in saudi arabia. )

However the neighbour also had a nasty bite.

Yesterday I was bitten again, I am pretty sure it was a spider. Both bites seem to have two small puncture marks. Again i did not feel the bite. The first time I had been working in undergrowth as well as higher up, this time i had only been working clearing plants on a fence. After medictaion the swelling is not so bad, but another bad night waking in pain. Arm stiff, another day in bed, with mostly sleeping all day feeling unwell. I slept in until 7.30 am and I am like an alarm clock - up at 6 am and raring to go normally.

The doctor did not seem to know what could have done this.

I noticed yesterday morning as I went to work in the garden that I had walked through a spider web ( more a string) I almost thouvht it was impossible as it was from one border to the other side ( about three metres)

I am now scared as I went out tonight and definately went througvh another spider string across a three metre gap.

Have I got some kind of imported and nasty species? It really makes me ill and I love my garden and it is my main hobby.

Can i set a trap to catch it? I have never seen it. Thanks for your information which I found on a google search after typing in " agressive spiders uk"

Is there somewhere i can report this to- for species monitoring ( I am a biologist)

Advice greatly appreciated as this spider ( although i encourage wildlfe in partcular insects with habitat creation etc) needs to be relocated or exterminated!!

An average garden probably has thousands of spiders, of around 50 different species, living in it. So trying to trap the particular one that bit when you don't know which part of the garden you were bit is just impossible.

I'm reading a book at present (about darngerous animals) and it says that about 80% of so-called spider bites are actually caused by other things. Spiders have been a hobby of mine for over 30 years yet I've only been bitten once and that was by one I tried to pick up between my fingers.

The ones with a web across a 3 metre gap are most likely garden cross spiders - common and harmless.

Sorry, I'm not being of much help. But if you post any pictures of large spiders from your garden we could try and identify them.

Thank you very much for this. It has really eased my mind that walking through the long webs across the path will not result in a bite. That this rather intimidating looking web is from a spider that is not the culprit.

I do concede that this could be another insect rather than a spider, it is definately not a plant as i know all my plants and which could have potentially irritating leaves/sap eg euphobias- and I have experienced these. I was working around a hyrangea peterioralis, camellia, and climbing rose and they do not cause problems.

This was definately a bite, you can actually see the puncture marks on the skin. What makes me think it was a spider is that there seem to be two puncture marks about a mm apart.

I do agree that on the whole spiders would not be agressive- even those with bad repuatations- unless threatened. I have not got great vision and do not wear glasses in the garden. I certainly could have cut away some foliage where it was, or even got close to squashing it. I think that inadvertantly threateneing it would be more likely to result in a bite. I think that is why you have not been bitten, you are handling them properly. I have happily let spider wander across my hands, even a tarantulla (not sure how to spell it!) in a nature day I ran for children.

Is there anything I could do to entice this one out? Spider traps? I could set it in the last place I was bitten. Where should I hunt for it? Will waering lng sleeves and coveing all my body protect me or could its fangs penetrate this?

If you think the spider that bit you lived in a bush then you could try holding a large tray under the bush and beating the branches with a stick. But the problem is you'll probably get loads of spiders, of several different species, most of which won't do you any harm whatsoever.

Anyway, if you could take photos of any you find we could try to ID them for you.

The book I'm reading says that many 'spider bites' are caused by steph or staph infections entering scratches. Your initial damage may have been a spider bite but do you know if spider venom caused the symptoms that developed later?

Arm got progressinvely worse. Severe shooting pain. Forearm, hand swollen. Pains from top of arm through to fingers. Pins and needles type tingling in hand. Been to emergency doctor. Definately not a steph or staph. Venom and she rang poison centre for advice. Aparently no anti venim. Took my word that it was proabably false black widow. Sling and pain killers.